KEVIN NISBET insists speculation linking him with other clubs is just that – and that he is fully focused on the job at Athletic.

The 22-year-old, who arrived at East End from local rivals Raith Rovers in the summer, is Dunfermline’s leading scorer with 11 goals in all competitions.

That form, which has come on the back of hitting the net 34 times for League One Rovers last season, led to national reports crediting Rangers in keeping tabs on his progress.

Earlier this month, head coach Stevie Crawford praised Nisbet’s “maturity” when asked about the Ibrox club’s alleged interest, but said that “if he’s attracting attention, that’s for other people to talk about”.

Nisbet, who is preparing to face Partick Thistle, with whom he began his career, told Press Sport that whilst such rumour is flattering, his mind is firmly set on getting back on the goal – and winning – trail on Saturday.

“It’s always going to be flattering if there’s interest, but I’ve said before it’s nothing more, nothing less than a wee bit interest,” he explained.

“It’s not going to put me off my game or make me worry about what’s going to happen in January. My full focus here is Dunfermline and trying to get us goals and wins.

“Of course, it gives a bit of confidence as well, but it’s purely about Dunfermline just now. We’re on the back of a disappointing defeat and, for us, we need to bounce back, just put everything else to the side and focus on winning the game on Saturday.”

Nisbet, who hit the opener in Pars’ impressive 3-0 romp at Thistle in September, is looking for his team-mates to rack up a fourth successive home victory to try and compensate for their Scottish Cup exit at Stranraer.

That result, which followed a 2-1 league reverse at Alloa in their previous match, ended with plenty of frustration being aired from supporters, and Nisbet acknowledged: “It’s good for the club for revenue as well, but it’s down to us.

“We take full responsibility as players. Going down there, it wasn’t the greatest surface or weather, but I think for us we need to do the dirty side better.

“If we go to places like that, we need to battle, we need to fight, and we need to play them at their own game because they did it better than us.

“I thought the first half, they were probably on top and had better chances, and then in the second half, they get a penalty and that’s probably the only chance they had.

“Once it’s done, it’s done, and you can’t really dwell on it. On Monday, we came in, spoke about it for five minutes before training, and it’s done now. It’s in the past and we move on to Thistle now.

“We owe it to the fans as well because they have travelled down and we can only apologise for it.

“I think we’ve won three on the bounce at home, so we’re still flying high with confidence. It’s not knocked anybody; we’ve got a group of boys that, after a defeat, don’t just go down into their shells and give up.

“I think we’re motivated, we’re confident and we’re looking to get three points on Saturday.”

He added: “We’ve got a really tight knit group of boys and Saturday’s a big game for us to show the fans that we actually are a good team, do the dirty side and play well.

“We’re only eight points from Ayr, and we play them on Tuesday, so it’s still very tight.

“I think the next three games, and then we’ve got Dundee and Inverness away, are massive to see where we’re going to be come January. We need to hit form at the right time.”